GR 45424; (July, 1938) (Digest)
G.R. No. 45424 ; July 15, 1938
PANAY AUTOBUS CO., INC., petitioner, vs. FIDELINO BERUÑO and PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION, respondents.
FACTS
The Public Service Commission granted the application of respondent Fidelino Beruño to convert his irregular autotruck service into a regular service along certain lines in Panay. The Commission, through a delegated justice of the peace, received evidence from both the applicant and the oppositor, Panay Autobus Co., Inc. However, the Commission rendered its decision on September 29, 1936, before it had actually received the transcript of the stenographic notes containing the testimony of the oppositor’s witnesses, which were only received on October 10, 1936. Thus, the Commission decided the case without considering the evidence presented by the oppositor.
ISSUE
Whether the decision of the Public Service Commission is valid despite having been rendered without considering the evidence of the oppositor.
RULING
No. The decision is void. Under the applicable law ( Act No. 3108 , as amended), the Public Service Commission is required to hear the interested parties before issuing any order fixing routes and schedules. By deciding the case based only on the evidence of the applicant, without waiting for and considering the evidence of the oppositor, the Commission acted in violation of this mandatory requirement. The decision is therefore illegal and void. The Court reversed the decision and remanded the case to the Public Service Commission to consider all the evidence on record and render a new decision.
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